February
3, 2010
We arrived in Morelia (the capital of Michoacán), on the evening
of Wednesday, February 3rd. We had come to prepare for our upcoming “Monarchs
in Mexico” trips scheduled for February 6-13 and 13-20. Just about
everyone we encountered in Morelia was talking about the rain and foul
weather they had been experiencing! In nine years of previous travels
to Michoacán during the dry season, we had never before encountered
rain. However, we were happy to be in Mexico and had come prepared with
our raingear. Though it rained intermittently the next day (Thursday,
February 4), we went about our day: visiting a local school, collecting
butterfly posters from the Tourism office, and purchasing needed supplies
for the trips. That evening we were astounded to see video of the flooding
in Angangeo, Tuxpan, and Mexico City on the local TV news. We were also
greatly saddened to learn that three children had been killed in Angangeo.

Friday,
February 5
The following day (Friday, February 5) was clear and sunny. There were
many more people in the streets compared to the previous day. This day,
all people talked about was how glad they were to see the sun, to leave
their houses, and even to be able to dry clothes on their clotheslines!
However, this more cheerful mood quickly faded as we learned of the landslides
occurring in the eastern part of the state. By the end of the day the
magnitude of the disaster was becoming apparent. The next morning, we
made numerous phone calls to our friends and contacts in Angangeo but
were unable to reach anyone there. When our group of eight educators from
Georgia and one videographer from Canada arrived that evening, we shared
the terrible news and resulting changes to the trip itinerary with them.
We
spent the next few days in Morelia and towns located to the west (Santa
Clara del Cobre, Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan, and Capula).

February
10: A Visit to the Chincua Sanctuary
On Wednesday, February 10, we were able to travel northeast though Tlalpujahua
to reach the Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary located north of Angangeo.
As we made our way along the trails to colony we learned that some of
the caballeros (horsemen) lived near Angangeo. Some told us their homes
had been washed away during the storms, but they were grateful because
all their families were safe. It was clear, sunny, and breezy when we
approached the butterfly colony just after 1:30 in the afternoon. The
butterflies were clustered in the trees with their orange wings opened
towards the sun. We also observed some butterflies flying and basking
in sunny areas on the ground and even spotted two mating pairs. Quite
often butterflies would alight on the heads and bodies of people there.

Our guide,
Arnulfo Gonsales Moreno, explained Sierra Chincua had been closed from
Tuesday, February 2 until Sunday, February 7. The sanctuary had reopened
on Monday, February 8. He told us there had been “puro sol”
(pure sun) since Sunday. One of the local tienda owners told us the area
where the butterflies are located is called “La Joyita,” which
means “the little jewel.” He drew a picture to show us this
area is a valley and explained the butterflies had moved into this area
when the storms, rain, wind, and ice had come. He said the butterflies
were more protected from weather here because there was no ice in this
area.

Arnulfo estimated
that about 100 trees were covered by monarchs. He said they had also roosted
in this same area, located on the west facing side of the mountain, last
year. We noticed the monarchs were mostly hanging in clusters on oyamel
trees, though several were also positioned in the lower shrubs at the
edge of the colony and appeared to be taking advantage the sunshine there.
The temperature in the shade was 51 degrees Fahrenheit, but in the sun,
our thermometer registered 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity levels in the
shade fluctuated between 53% and 58%. Humidity registered about 30% in
the sun. Our location was N 19° 40.158’ and W 100° 17.772’.
The elevation was 10, 413 feet.

After leaving
Sierra Chincua, we travelled south to the town of Jungapeo. The trip took
about 4 hours because so many roads in the area were still closed. We
traveled through Tuxpan and were able to cross the bridge over the Tuxpan
river that had flooded just days before. The main road was covered in
dust from the dried mud. We saw several people wearing dust masks. We
also saw mud deposits on the side streets and one car still completely
covered in mud.

Thursday,
February 11: Cerro Pelon Sanctuary and School Visit
On Thursday, February 11, we travelled though Zitácuaro to the
small village of Macheros (located at an elevation of 7,972 feet) in order
to visit the Cerro Pelon Butterfly Sanctuary. Before mounting horses to
travel to the colony we stopped at the school to visit with students and
deliver school supplies collected by our trip participants as well as
books donated through our Mexico
Book Project. The teachers in our group had many questions for the
Mexican students. The students, though shy at first, were also curious
about what life was like for school children in
the United States. We ended our visit by taking a group photo and recording
a video message of the Mexican students, no longer so reserved, enthusiastically
shouting “¡Buenos días!” to students in the U.S.

Arroyo, our
friend in Macheros, accompanied our group up the mountain to see the butterfly
colony. It was a cool overcast day. When we arrived at the colony about
3 pm, we witnessed heavy clusters of monarchs hanging in the trees of
this deep forest. Monarchs were also densely packed on the trunks of the
oyamel and broadleaf trees. It was impossible to see how many trees were
covered with butterflies. We observed some butterflies in flight and many
more shivering butterflies as the temperature was only 49.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our group was amazing by the soft sound of shivering and fluttering. Arroyo
told us in January four separate groups of monarchs had joined together
to form the single colony we were seeing today. The name of the area where
the monarchs were clustered is known as “El Salto.” When we
looked up this word in our Spanish dictionary, we discovered it was a
noun that meant a leap, bound, or jump or even a leaping-place or ground
from which leaps could be taken. This area is located on the west facing
side of the mountain and is protected by ridges. The elevation was 9,304
feet. Our GPS coordinates were N 19° 22.754’ and W 100°
16.085’.

Before leaving
Mexico, members of our group wanted to say “¡Hola!”
(Hello!) to their students and co-workers at Austell Intermediate School,
Druid Hills High School, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The
State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Stone Mountain Memorial Association,
and Trinity School.